Of The Moon
by Athena Goddess of the Wise
Summary: If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.
1. part I

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** So this is my first (published) ROTG fanfiction. Woo-hoo! Anyway, a while ago I lost a bunch of chapters of another ROTG fanfiction. I was going to re-write it. Then I thought: POLAR BEARS. And of course the only logical thing to do then was make Jack Frost one.

Unlike my other (lost) fanfic, i only have one chapter written right now. This is it. It will be different from the real EOTSWOTM. And the same. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Toothiana, princess of Punjam Hy Loo, runs through the forest, and she can barely feel her bare feet hitting the ground.

_Run, run, run_, is the only thought crossing her mind as her legs pump.

Finally, she has to stop, and collapses to the ground, chest heaving.

She knows exactly where she is. It normally takes her much longer to reach the place, but it is painfully familiar. She is in an open stretch of the forest, a small pond in the middle of the shining light. She must have come here by accident, or by some natural magnetism. She and her youngest sister found this place three years ago when she was sixteen and her sister was ten.

This had always been the sisters – all eight of them – secret place. Not even their parents knew of it. Toothiana's body is raked with a sob as she remembers her sister Kunjani sitting by the pond, holding one of the many frogs who lived there.

Kunjani had always been the one of the eight sisters who enjoyed the earth and nature the most. Even though she had not been one of the two sisters who had found the place, all of them felt that she was the one who truly owned it.

Standing here without her felt like trespassing on a sacred ground.

Toothiana lets out all of the tears she has been holding in since she learned of her sister's death. And though she is overcome with grief, relief is also spread through her as she finally releases all her pent up emotions.

She does not know how long she has lain there, crying, but as she wipes the tears from her face she notes the darkening sky, and resolves to head back.

Her family already has enough to worry about.

But as she whirls around, she shrieks and falls back onto the ground.

There, a mere ten feet away from her, stands a bear.

A large, white bear. With eyes that shine like a humans.

And then the bear speaks.

If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words.

This bear's voice sounds like laughter.

"Hello." The bear laugh talks to her, and even as she is frightened, Toothiana is overcome with curiosity.

This bear, this oddly colored bear with his human eyes and his human voice, seems to show her no harm.

"Hello." She repeats back to him.

He laughs – it sounds like the wind, she thinks – and leans closer to her. Even though the rational part of her tells her to move back, she stays where she is.

"Why were you crying?" the bear asks, and he sounds curious, not wise like the magical beings in the stories always seem to.

"A Hunter has been plaguing my family's kingdom since my parents were wed. But today, today he struck harder than usual, and killed my sister in the process. Even our best warriors cannot stop him." Her voice breaks several times in her declaration, and she fears the bear will find her weak.

"I can help you with that!" the bear says excitedly, and then he smiles.

Toothiana gasps – in both fear and wonder – because this beast has _the most beautiful teeth_ and _the most deadly teeth._

"How can you help me?" she asks after the initial shock wears off.

"I can kill the Hunter." He says as if it is no big thing. Though, she muses, he _is_ a giant bear. But still, the Hunter has killed many in his time.

"Truly?" she asks, and finally realizes that she has been on the ground for this whole encounter.

She stands up as he chuckles. "Truly."

Her heart feels light as she begins to thank him, but her words are cut off by the bear. "However, there will be a price."

She sighs. There is always a price. But no price is too high. "What is it?"

"You must live with me for a full year in my castle." He answers and she thinks, that isn't so bad.

But then she remembers her family at home, who have already lost a daughter and a sister.

"I agree." She says with little hesitation. "But you must allow me to go to my home and say good bye to my family."

"Agreed." The bear says, and he smiles again. "I will come for you tomorrow, and by then, the Hunter will be dead."

Toothiana shivers slightly at the conviction in his tone.

"Now," the bear laughs, throwing his head back, "I will walk you home. I've been told there is a Hunter in these parts. I would not want my companion to die before she even comes to stay with me."

* * *

_The doors to the castle burst open, and nine heads rise to see the guardswoman – Kunjani's second in command – walk into the throne room, her face somber._

_"No-!" Queen Rashmi gasps, as her husband holds her close. Tiya cries and holds tight to Toothiana as the guard confirms their suspicion._

_"I am sorry, your highnesses. She was killed by the Hunter when our forces attacked."_

_Radha, the eldest of the sisters, nods and leads the guardswoman into the next room as King Haroom helps his wife follow them._

_Toothiana breathes in deeply and then leads her younger sisters along to their respective rooms, and remembers when Kunjani was the one to do so, not a mere forty eight hours before._

_After all her sisters are busy elsewhere, Toothiana goes into her room. She only stays there for a second. She feels as though she will burst if something does not occupy her mind, take her away from all the misery._

_So she runs. She runs down the castle steps. Runs out over the grounds. Runs and runs and runs through the forest. _

_She runs, and hopes to leave the thoughts that occupy her behind._

_But they catch up._


	2. part II

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** Don't expect me to update like this usually I'm still in the 'new-fanfic' stage where I'm super excited. Also awkward ending point. Oi vey.

* * *

She does not know what to bring. At first she thinks to leave behind her fancy clothes, but then she remembers the bear saying he lived in a palace.

She is still trying to decide when the bear arrives.

"I do not know what to pack." She tells him as the servant's whispers surround them.

"Pack only what you want. Everything else will be provided for you."

She nods and runs back to her room.

She grabs only two bags. One she fills with clothes. The other she fills with memories.

She says good bye to her family once again. Tiya whispers into her ear. "Please don't go."

"I have to." Toothiana whispers back, though her heart hurts at her younger sister's face. And then she walks to the bear.

"How do I do this?" she asks. The bear shakes his back, hair flying. "Climb on."

She tries a few times, before sighing exasperatedly. "It would help if you would kneel."

Tiya laughs, and Toothiana is reminded that her family is still there, along with many guardswoman and servants.

She points to the bear. "You, kneel. Komal," she calls to her younger sister, "Come boost me up."

With minimal effort, Toothiana is mounted upon the bears back. With one more goodbye, the bear begins to lumber out of the place grounds.

"How far are we going?" she asks the bear. "Far." Comes his gruff reply.

"On foot?" she asks, looking back at the little distance they have covered.

"Yes." The bear laughs. "Hold on tight."

Toothiana tightens her hands around his fur just in time, because the bear starts a loping run.

And then, they are flying.

Or at least that's what it feels like. Her long, black hair is streaming behind her as she hangs on to the bear for dear life. After a moment, she lifts her head up and open her eyes.

The world is streaming past her. Greens and blues and browns whiz past, and she shrieks.

"Having fun?" the bear calls back to her. "I might vomit on your fur, but besides that, yes!" she yells to him, and his laugh is carried back to her.

Soon, she feels comfortable sitting up and watching the world fly past her.

"It's like flying." She shouts to the ear. He nods his giant head in agreement. "It's my favorite part of all of this."

The colors start to change from greens and blues to white. The air has a stronger chill to it, and she leans into the bear for warmth.

"Hold on tight!" the bear tells her, and she complies as he begins to slow.

She is almost thrown forward as he comes to a complete stop. After collecting herself, she lifts her head.

And gasps in wonder.

In front of her is a giant castle, bigger even then her own at home. And it was made entirely out of ice. The many spires of it nearly touched the sky, and it glistened in the sun so bright she was almost blinded.

The bear smiled and lumbers in through the large doors as Toothiana continued to gape at her surroundings.

He continued through the palace, going up flights of stairs obviously designed for a bear, to a large room.

"This is your room." He said, stopping so she could slide off his back.

She stumbles as the feeling came back to her legs before she looked at her new home. Her new bed was giant, twice the size of hers at home – and her bed at home was quite large. Beyond that, it was furnished with chairs and a large bookshelf. She could also see a lush bathroom through doors to the side and a closet filled with clothes.

"It's amazing…" she told him.

"I'm glad you like it." He says softly. "Anyway! I'll leave you here to get…settled. Dinner's in an hour. I'll be back for you then." And with that he leaves her.

Slowly, she unpacks her clothes and looks at the ones that are already in the closet. They vary from warm winter clothes to fancy dresses. Seeing the warmer clothes alerts her to the fact that ever since she entered the castle, she hasn't been cold.

She shrugs it off, and starts to unpack her other bag. It is mainly filled with presents she has received from her family in the past. She unloads jewelry, books, and even toys from when she was a child.

When she is done, and the bear has still not come for her, she decides to look around her home for a year.

She exits her room, and decides on going the opposite way that she and the bear entered.

As she wanders down the long hallway, she marvels at the floors, walls, and ceilings of the place. Made all entirely of ice, they are neither wet nor slippery, and shine brilliantly.

She peers in doors as she walks around, and sees rooms of all different purposes. Music rooms, sewing rooms, rooms filled with things she had never seen before –

Finally, she stops at a giant room filled to the brim with books.

Even used to grandeur, this whole castle awes her.

She turns around to find her way back to her room, mentally remembering where each room that she passed was, when she saw the bear plodding towards her.

"I thought I told you I would be at your room for you in an hour." He tells her, and she feels as though she is being reprimanded, even though if she had to guess the bear's age she would only guess he was a year older than her.

"I didn't know you were coming, and I wanted to get acquainted with my new home." She told him, and he nodded.

"Well, it's time for dinner now. Follow me." And with that, he starts down the hall.

She follows him into a large dining room. In contrast, there is only a normal sized table, at which he sits at one end and she the other.

"Where is the food?" she asks, as she looks at the table only adorned with a plate, silverware, and a cup.

"Simply think of your favorite food and drink, and it will appear."

She nods, and thinks of the first food that pops into her head. Then jumps back in surprise when it pops onto her plate. Hesitantly taking a bite of the steaming dish, she is not surprised by the rich flavor. Everything else in this castle was already magnificent - why shouldn't the food be?

"What about you?" she asks, nodding to the empty space in front of the bear.

He turns his head away from her. "I have already eaten."

"Oh." She says. And she admits her stomach recoils a bit at the thought of what she imagined a white bear to eat, but then she pushes the thought out of her head. He has shown nothing but kindness to her in the two days she has known him, and she will not allow doubts to plague her mind.

She finishes her food as they sit in a comfortable silence. As soon as she is done, the food disappears from the plate and everything appears clean.

"I suppose you are very tired after your day. I'll show you around the castle tomorrow, but why don't you rest now?" he tells her, and she nods and stands to leave. But as she walks through the doorway she stops.

"Do you have a name?" she asks. "Something I can call you besides bear."

He looks confused, and she worries she has angered him unintentionally. But then she says, "I think my name is Jack."

"Jack." She says, and he nods, eyes lighting up. "Jack Frost." He laughs. "My name is Jack Frost. I haven't heard it or said it for so long I'd almost forgotten."

Jack Frost. Like the stories her mother used to read to her. But she doesn't dare tell the bear – Jack, she supposed, regardless of rather it's his name or not. He seems too happy with his discovery of the name. And besides, Jack Frost seemed to suit him, with his white hair and human eyes.

"You may call me Tooth." She tells him instead. She was sure he already knew her real name, but she preferred to be called by this nickname. "If we are to live together for a year, you must call me as my family does."

He laughs, and she takes her leave.

As she walks down the halls, she can hear his voice in the distance, alternatively saying 'Jack' and 'Tooth' with glee.

She smiles.

* * *

That night, she is woken up as here bed dips on the far corner.

It is pitch black around her, but she can feel a person – oh god, it better be a person, she thinks – slide under the covers next to her.

She screams.


	3. part III

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** Okay. So the next 2-3 chapters will most likely be about Jack and Tooth getting to know each other then we'll launch into the action. Also I feel like Tooth is severally under-reacting to this like I'd be freaking out BUT freaking out for a long time just doesn't work for this story so here you go extreme under-reaction to a strange man in your bed.

* * *

She stumbles out of bed, tripping over the rug on the floor in her rush to get away.

She cannot see well, as it is dark and her eyes haven't adjusted to the light yet, but she can see the shape of a person – a male person – on her bed.

She runs to grab the box of matches that sits beside her bed so she can light the candelabra, but her search provides her with nothing.

Biting back another scream, she goes to where the candelabra sits, and there it is, but with no candles in it.

Finally, she rushes to the door, even though she knows her efforts will most likely be futile, and sure enough it is locked.

She is panicking, and so she tells herself to calm down. The man has not moved from his position on her bed, and if she had to guess from his steady breathing, he was asleep.

Breathing in deeply, she creeps over to the couch in her room. She thanks the gods that it was large enough for her to lie on peacefully, though she really has no plans to fall asleep. Instead, she lies there, staring at the unwelcome guest in her room.

She wakes up on the coach, a blanket draped over herself, and the mysterious man gone from her bed. The candles were back in the candelabra, the matches were by her bedside, and the door was unlocked.

But she hadn't imagined it.

There was an indent in her bed, and she had not fallen asleep with this blanket on her. Furthermore, the pillow the man had slept on smelled of pine needles – and, quite embarrassingly, she had to stop herself from breathing in the smell more than once.

She does not know what to do. Does she confront the bear – Jack - about this man in hopes that he will be able to get rid of him? Or is the man Jack's friend?

She sighs, and pushing all thoughts of the man out of her head for now, goes into the bathroom.

After a quick bath, she slips on a pair of clothes from her closet – she had checked last night before bed, and most if not all seemed to be her size – before going off to the dining room.

She is not sure if she is relieved or disappointed to not find Jack in the room. As she eats, she plans all the ways she can confront Jack on the man in her bed room.

She takes the last bite of her food just as Jack enters, and all the thoughts of how she should handle her confrontation leaves her mind.

Instead, she just stares at him.

"How did you sleep?" he asks her.

"I slept awful, if you really must know." She says, her words full of spite and mistrust.

He sighs. "Oh. That."

She laughs in surprise, because up until this point she did not truly believe that he knew, but now he had confirmed it.

"Yes." She says cruelly. "That."

He does not say anything back, and they sit in silence for a minute, before Tooth launches back into her anger.

"Who is he? Why does he sleep in my room when there are so many empty ones? How do you know him?" she takes a deep breath and goes to start with more questions, but he cuts her off.

"I can't tell you anything about him but this: he must sleep in the same room as you, and he will never, _ever_ hurt you."

She stares at him, her expression confused and hurt. "How can I know if I can trust you?"

Jack stares at her, as though he does not know how to answer her question.

"Do you still want that tour?" he asks finally, after a minute of silence.

Toothiana sighs. She does not want to forgive Jack that easily, but she also wants to see the palace she would be living in for the next year.

And that thought solidifies her resolve. She promised to stay at the castle for a year, and as long as she came to no harm, she could not break that promise.

So, with another sigh, she answers Jack with a yes.

* * *

Later that evening, she flops down onto the bed – trying not to think of the fact that a strange person had slept in it last night and could easily do it again.

It was only midday, she reminded herself. If she could just push of her worries until later in the day, perhaps she could enjoy herself.

Jack had shown her many magnificent rooms in the house, and the library was particularly intriguing to her.

She looks around the gorgeous room she has been given, and thinks of the many wonders she has seen since coming to this place.

Still, she agreed to live with a dangerous creature, who she had barely known, for a year of her life.

And for what in return? The death of a man. But she did not even know if this man had been killed, and could think of no way to find out if he was beyond breaking her promise to Jack.

So in the end it all came down to the matter of trust. Did she trust that Jack had killed the Hunter? Yes. There had been something in the way he promised, something in his eyes, maybe, that made her believe him.

More importantly:

Did she trust him that the man who slept in her bed would cause her no harm?

She did.

That was the worst part, really. She had no reason to trust him, to believe him, and yet she steadily found herself doing so.

She was still scared. Terrified, even, that the person who stayed in her bed would cause her harm. But the way Jack had promised her that the person wouldn't, well, she was either a fool or Jack was some sort of wizard.

Still, she muses, it cannot hurt to trust him. Maybe the man would not even come tonight. And if he did, well, Jack had said he would not harm her.

Cursing her foolishness but still feeling a sense of relief in her trust of Jack, she goes to check out the library.

* * *

That night, when the man slides in to her bed, she tenses but does not leave it. The bed is large enough that at least two other people could fit on it, and she has room to stretch her legs and arms even with the person on the other side.

She checks, just to be sure, but yes, the candles and matches are gone and the door is locked. The man is once again asleep, at least she thinks.

What harm can an unconscious person do?

Still, she lays awake for many hours that night.


	4. part IV

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** I'm not really good at developing relationships, friendly or otherwise, as you can no doubt see. Also, as a sort of bragging rights, I would just like to point out that every chapter of this story has been over 1,000 words, which is how long most of my one-shots are!

* * *

It has been a week since Tooth has come to the castle, and so far she has only seen Jack at meals.

She does not know why he has been avoiding her. If anything, she should be the one avoiding him, and it is honestly starting to make her mad.

Finally, one night at dinner, she decides to flat out ask him why he has been ignoring her.

What's the worst that could happen?

Well, he could eat her, she supposed, but the loneliness was so brutal that she would almost accept that.

Still, in lieu of being eaten, she decides to make her confrontation more subtle.

"Where do you go when you're not with me?" she asks, and there, she's not being pushy or confrontational, she's just making conversation.

"Out and about." He answers, and she sighs. This is going to be harder than she expected.

"Out and about _where_?" she presses.

He chuckles a bit. "Do you want to see?" he asks her excitedly, and she nods eagerly. Maybe she was wrong, and he has not been ignoring her. Or maybe she was right and he was only just now opening up. Either way, she'd know soon.

"Put on warm clothes and meet me at the entrance as soon as possible!" he tells her, and she laughs, because to see such a large so excited and childlike was as amazing as it was hilarious.

And so, she goes to do as Jack told her, grabbing a warm fur lined parka – a rich blue, she notes, just like most every other item of clothes in the closet that were not her own – as well as thick pants, boots, scarf, hat, and gloves.

Then, she meets the bear in the large foyer, ready for an adventure.

"Hop on." He tells her, kneeling down as she pulls over a chair.

"Will we be going as fast as before?" she asks him, and he chuckles.

"Yes." He answers, and she can feel the smile spreading across her face as he begins to lope into the white tundra.

As he begins to speed up, she whoops in glee, and can hear his happy laughter floating back at her.

This time, she keeps her eyes open the entire way, watching the whites and blues, and eventually a little bit of greens a browns, whiz past her.

This ride is shorter than her last, at least half the time that her first one was, and when Jack begins to slow down she can see that they are still surrounded by snow and ice, though this place had trees around, too.

"Where are we?" she asks him, looking at the forest around them and the light coming off of a town in the distance.

"A town called Burgess." He answers her, and she nods and asks, "Do you come here often?"

"Yes." He smiles at the town in the distance, or at least as best he can. "It is one of my favorite places that I visit."

She deflates slightly at that – he visits many places, and she can't help but wonder if he does it to get away from her.

"Would you like to see it?" He asks her, and she nods as he leads her into the town.

She smiles at the people they pass, but none look at her, and finally she turns to Jack. "Can they not see us?"

"They cannot." He answers her.

"Why not?"

They continue through the town.

"I make it so they can't." she opens her mouth to ask why, but he continues on as though he suspects her question. "Can you imagine a large bear walking through your village? Surely you would try to kill it, or at least be incredibly frightened."

"I wasn't." she tells him, and he looks at her quite seriously. "You were."

"Well, yes, maybe, but I still came with you and trusted you!" she insists.

He hum's in thought, and then smiles at her, a wonderful sort of smile. "Perhaps you're just special. Now! I want to show you my favorite place here."

He leads her on throughout the village, and she is overwhelmed with the feeling of being invisible, the loneliness of passing and seeing people without them seeing you. A sharp stab of empathy goes through her heart for Jack, who was forced to either do this or scare everyone who saw him.

_But not me_, she reminds herself, and that makes her feel a bit better.

Jack comes to a stop, and she continues for a few steps, so lost in her thought is she.

She stops, and she looks in front of her.

It is not what she was expecting. It is not a magnificent sight. There were no sparkling lakes or large trees. No, the sight was quite average.

Maybe that was why Jack liked it.

What he was pointing at with a big bear paw was simply a small cottage with many young children playing in front of it.

Even though the oldest of them looked two or three years younger than Tiya, Tooth could not help but feel homesickness stronger than any she had gotten in the past week.

"See that boy there?" Jack said, pointing to an older boy with brown hair and a happy face. "His name is Jamie. Jamie Bennett. And the little girl is his sister, Sophie."

"Why do you come here?" she asks him, watching the children play in the snow.

"I like to watch the town. Especially those children." He shrugs, and then a pained expression crosses his face. "I can't remember what my childhood was like, or anything past three hundred years ago. I – I think I wasn't a bear before then. Maybe I even had a little sister or brother."

His face is so wistful and pained that she goes and wraps her arms around his large, furry neck.

He leans into it a little, but not so much she staggers under the weight, and then he pulls away.

"Get on my back. I think it's about time we head home." He tells her, and she does so.

As he leaves the village, she musters the courage to finally ask him what she wanted to at breakfast.

"Why did you not bring me along earlier? Did you not want me to come?"

He stops, and she can feel him tense up.

I've ruined it, she thinks.

"I… I did not think you would want to come." She could hear the loneliness in his voice, and even as she breathes a sigh of relief over not ruining their friendship, her heart grows heavier. "What with me not telling you about…you know."

"Well." She answers him. "I cannot say I am by any means happy with the fact that a stranger sleeps in my bed every night, but you were right in telling me that I would not come to any harm from him. So far nothing has happened, and he has even slept so far away on the bed that I can spread out quite comfortably without fear of waking him!"

Jack's shoulders loosen up a little, and he continues to walk out of the village.

"Besides." She continues. "I – I have missed you. It's very lonely in that castle, all by yourself."

"Good!" he laugh-talks. "Maybe tomorrow we can go someplace else!"

And even though he has already started to run in the way that makes you feel like you are riding the wind, and can likely not hear her, she says, "I would like that."

Still, the whole ride back to the castle, she is haunted by the fact that for several centuries, Jack was no doubt as alone – more alone, as there was no one at meals either – in the castle as she had been.


	5. part V

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** This took a while to write and it's not like it even took that long because it's good no it's awful GOD. The only good thing about it is the fact that the story will start to pcik up in the next chapter.

* * *

The next month passes in a blur, as do the ones after that.

Jack takes her to parts of the world she has never even heard of.

Each day the only clue he gave her as to their destination was the clothes she'd need to wear. ("Dress warmly!" "Dress for hot weather; but don't forget your coat for through the colder parts." "Make sure to wear clothes you can get dirty in!" "You do have swimming garments in your closet, correct?")

Every time she mounts his back she feels the whisper of adventure.

Even better, Jack seems to enjoy sharing the world with her.

And as the months went by, she comes to enjoy her time at the castle even more than she had imagined she would.

She had come here to get rid of a menace to her country – one she had, admittedly, put in the back of her mind, along with all the other worries she had at her home – and had not much thought past the fact that she would be living lord knows where with a bear whose shoulders were a foot above her head.

But even with the extra weight in her bed every night, she enjoys her time at the ice castle doubly more than she could have ever imagined.

And, she had to admit, it was mostly due to Jack.

Not just the amazing trips he took her on, that spanned across the world, but Jack, the one who had opened up to her over the months she had lived in his palace, the one who was, against all odds, her friend.

He talked to her in a way that no one else ever had.

That was the bad thing about growing up with eight sisters. They all already knew everything about you. They didn't need chats over meals or even adventures. They already knew about your hobbies and interests, and at a certain point they stopped caring about them.

Jack didn't know anything about her besides the fact that she was a princess who wanted a man dead. At least, he knew nothing about her when she arrived at his home.

He knew so much about her now.

He knew about her strange obsession with teeth. (He had laughed at this, showing off his own dangerously beautiful specimens.) He knew of her sisters and her parents and her life.

And she knew as much about him as he could tell her.

He did not remember before three hundred years ago, but he was still Jack. He loved running ('using the winds', as he called it, because according to Jack they propelled him) as much as she loved riding his back.

Some days they will just go out and he will run and she will sit on his back, soaking up the feeling of flying as her long braid whips behind her.

And even when they do not talk about themselves ("I love the cold.") or the places they visit ("This is the most beautiful place yet!") they just talk.

They talk about things Tooth would forget within the hour ("The weather seems a bit warmer today.") and they talked about things that Tooth would remember ("Who makes the food?").

Toothiana, daughter of King Haroom and Queen Rashmi, third princess of the city of Punjam Hy Loo, was born with two friends and gained six as her life went on. But never, has she had one like Jack Frost.

She has never had a friend who was not forced to be that through ties of blood.

And she was, perhaps, happier than she had ever been in her life.

* * *

Still, exactly half way through her stay at the castle, she decides she wants to go home.

She decides this over a meal, which she was admittedly a little cautious to eat after Jack's proclamation that he does not know where the food comes from.

After eating the last bite of food, she looks at the large bear and places her thoughts quite indelicately.

"I want to go home."

His eyes widen in something like fear, and Toothiana thinks of their agreement and the fact that he must imagine she means to break it.

She quickly backtracks.

"Not like that!" she practically yells. "Not forever. It's just, my youngest sister's birthday is next month – she'll be thirteen – and I was wondering if I could visit my family for a week or so? I'll come back, of course! I just – I miss them."

Jack's sigh of relief is audible, and he nods. "I suppose you could visit them. It won't count for your year here, but it shouldn't hurt anything."

When he says things like that – one of his comments that make it seem as though he is forced to be in this castle – she wonders why it is that he is here. He either cannot tell her or will not or simply doesn't know, as she'd tried asking him in the past.

Still, it was best not to dwell on it, just like it was best not to dwell on the fact that there is a strange man in her bed every night or the fact that Jack is a beast that could kill her with the same teeth he smiles at her with.

So, instead of dwelling, she smiles across the table and thanks him.

"It will be so wonderful to see them again! I wonder how they're doing? Oh, thank you Jack, this means so much to me!" she tells him, crossing the room and throwing her small arms around his large neck.

"I'm going to go pack – you wouldn't mind if I took one of the scarves in the closet as a gift for Tiya, would you? I don't really have anything else to give her and I don't want to show up empty handed for her party!" she nearly flies out of the dining room, nervous excitement encasing her.

Still, a pang of sadness goes through her as well. She had not thought much of it, but her time here with Jack was halfway over. She didn't know what would happen after it was – would she go home, same as she was now, only without promises of more adventures and fun and laughter and _Jack_ to come?


	6. part VI

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes:** hey, remember when the first few chapters were updated within days of each other? Haha. Also, in case you were confused, this is the order of Tooth's sisters (this is also more for me than you, but...)

_Radha - eldest - age: around 22_

_Kunjani - deceased - age: around 21 (at time of death)_

_Toothiana - age: around 19_

_Pia - introduced w/name this chapter - age: around 18_

_unnamed - twin - age: around 16_

_unnamed - twin - age: around 16_

_unnamed - age: around 14_

_Tiya - youngest - age: 12 (will be 13 in next chapter)_

I don't know if I will name any more sisters - but that's just so if I do I can come back and be like oh okay this is where I places BLAH BLAH.

* * *

Two weeks later, as dawn lights the snow up with pinks and oranges, Toothiana mounts Jack's back.

On her back she carries a bag much smaller than the one she brought, as all but a few of her clothes are at home. The bag simply holds a sky blue dress that lightens to white as it goes down to the floor. Though it is not warm enough to wear out into the cold, it is the dress that most reminds Tooth of her new home.

When she set out on the task to find a scarf to give Tiya, she could find none that were right. And when the dress had caught the corner of her eye…

Well, she feels slightly bad about taking a dress when she had asked Jack for a scarf. But Jack _had_ told her, ages ago, that anything in the closet was hers. It wouldn't hurt anything, she had told herself.

Jack starts off into his run, and if not for the pack on her back and the excitement bubbling in her stomach today would be a perfectly normal day.

She has gotten used to this, sitting on Jack's back and riding the wind, but it is no less exciting. Her days at the castle – she wonders when she had stopped calling it home – had been filled with sewing and balls and banquets and other duties a princess is supposed to fill. And towards the end, fear.

Her days spent at Jack's ice palace have been filled with excitement and wonder and joy. She has known every nook and cranny at Punjam Hy Loo's castle since she was five years old, but even after having been at Jack's castle for months she still gets lost or turned around or chances upon a new room.

Still, even though she will miss her days with Jack for the short week she is gone, she is nearly bouncing on his back as he lopes towards her family's castle.

"You're excited?" he shouts to her, most likely having felt her nervous bouncing.

She doesn't know if he hears her laugh as he continues to run.

When the blurs of color have gotten to be mainly green, Jack slows down.

He is still running, but at a pace where she can see the landscape go by. She recognizes the plants of her homeland, and before she knows it she is astride her bear outside of the city gates.

"I will see you in a week." He reminds her as she slides off his back.

She smiles up at him, and nods. "A week."

Then, hugging his large furry neck, she says good bye and walks up to the gates.

* * *

The gates to the city are closed and locked, and Toothiana realizes that it must still be so early that they are not open. She grasps the large knocker and lifts it as high as she can, the bang resonating through the trees.

"The city will not be open for another hour." A guard calls down.

"I am Princess Toothiana here for my sister's birthday. Surely you can make an exception?" she didn't look forward to waiting here for an hour.

A helmet covered head peeks out through a window in the tower above the gate, followed by an audible gasp that Tooth heard even though she was feet below.

As the head disappears the gate begins to open, and before it has even opened all the way a guard runs and tackles Tooth.

She immediately thrashes about trying to fight off the person on top of her, until a familiar voice shouts, "Tooth! It's me."

She stops. "P-pia?"

The person on top of her pulls off her helmet, revealing none other than her younger sister. "Pia! But what are you doing as a guard? You were so proud to be in the third regiment!"

Her sister's face sombers unexpectedly, and Tooth's stomach drops. "You weren't hurt or any-!"

"No-no!" Pia assures her, "No. What with- what with Kunjani, and then you leaving… Mother and father wanted to take…precautions."

With her sister's words, everything Toothiana had been running away from comes flooding back to her. Her sister, killed by a man who had killed hundreds more. Jack, whom she had traded off a year in a place she had no idea of with a bear, for that very man's death. Her family, who had suffered the loss of not one but two daughters and sisters. And the Hunter, a man she had bargained dead.

A tear rolls down her face as she held her sister closer.

"I'm so sorry." Tooth tells her as the tears stream down her face. "Because of me, you lost your position. I was so selfish. The Hunter probably would have wound up dead regardless of Jack – the bear – or not. I just wanted to leave. I'm so sorry." She freezes in her apologies, a new worry sparking in the back of her mind.

"H-he is dead, right?" she asks Pia.

Tooth can feel Pia nodding against her shoulder. "He was found in the woods the same day you left. He-he had claw slits in his body."

Tooth shudders slightly at that, knowing that it had been Jack who had killed him.

She wonders if her family had thought that that was what Jack had done to her – taken her off to some far away forest and used his sharp claws and teeth to kill her.

"But!" Pia says, brightening up. "You're home! Everyone will be so excited to see you. We hadn't expected you back for – for a year. Or- um." Tooth hears the unsaid 'or never', but she shrugs it off. "They'll all be so happy. Especially Tiya! She hasn't been nearly as excited about her birthday as she should be, and we all knew it was because you weren't here. But now you are! She'll be so happy, she'll burst!"

Toothiana laughs at her sister's newfound excitement, feeling suddenly at home while lying on the ground in her Pia's arms.


	7. part VII

**Title**: Of The Moon

**Summary:** If you had asked Toothiana yesterday how she would have imagined a bear's voice to sound, it would not be like this one's. It would be deep, and gravelly, and rough. It would sound like a roar between words. This bear's voice sounds like laughter./ / Or, Jack Frost is a bear. Toothiana is a princess bound to him for a year. East of the Sun, West of the Moon retelling.

**Notes: **So, I said I wasn't going to name anymore sisters. I lied. In the real story, the bear tells the girl not to tell her mother of the man in her bed, but I forgot to add that last chapter, so... (in my defense my wifi was out...yeah, lets go with that.). Also, this is a pretty long chapter. Yay! Finally: Sunday is my birthday! So, technically tomorrow now. You know what would be a _great_ present? *cough*reviews*cough*.

* * *

Pia leads her through Punjam Hy Loo, and all around her she can hear the citizens remarking on her sudden appearance. Several people even came over to the two sisters, saying to Tooth, "You're back!"

As they continue their walk, Toothiana's spirits grow, until by the time they reach the castle her excitement is bubbling over.

Someone must have run ahead and told the castle of her arrival, because when she and Pia arrive there, her parents, sisters, and many others are waiting.

Her eyes well up for a second time as she sees them standing there, and for a minute they all stand in silence.

It is broken by Tiya, who shrieks and runs toward Tooth, wrapping her up in a hug. In a matter of seconds, her entire family is hugging her, even Pia.

When they finally draw apart, there are no dry eyes, not even the courtiers who are watching the spectacle.

"You're home." Her mother says, cradling Toothiana in her arms.

"I missed you so much." Tooth replies, and as she looks at all the familiar faces her heart swells.

"It hasn't been a year." Radha says, and everyone turns to Tooth, expectant.

She knows what they want her to say. She knows that they want her to tell them that she's here to stay, that the bear was letting her out five months earlier than he had said. And she wants to tell them that. As much as she loves her time with Jack, now that she was home she didn't want to leave.

_"I will see you in a week." _He'd told her. She had thought he was just talking, that it was his way of saying good-bye. But now, standing here, with her doubts about wanting to leave her home again, she knows that he saw this coming. It wasn't a good-bye. It was a reminder.

"I'm here for a visit." She forces out, her heart growing heavier at their falling faces. "For Tiya's birthday."

"How long?" Tiya asked her.

Tooth opens her mouth, then closes it once more before answering. "A week."

She nearly cringes at their disappointment. They stand there in silence, and Toothiana feels like her heart breaks more and more with every second.

"A whole week." Pia finally says. "Did you hear that? We get Tooth back for a whole week!"

With her words she seems to have broken the silence, and soon they are surrounding her, leading her into the castle, with Tiya telling Tooth all about her birthday celebration in two days.

And Toothiana can feel the warmth and happiness of being surrounded by her family spread through her body.

The next day settles into such a familiar routine – she has helped prepare so many birthdays for her sisters and parents and even herself - that Tooth can barely believe she has been gone for over six months.

The only difference she can fathom is the way her sisters react to her entering a room – as if they had forgotten she was there.

They are all busy that day. The birthday of a princess is no small thing, and so it is obvious that the day before it would be nothing less than hectic. But during her busy day of greeting people she has not seen in so long and helping to prepare for the party, she manages to glean out some information from the past months from her family.

Radha was engaged to a man from a neighboring kingdom. Pragnya had begun her study at the college – years early. And, most importantly, after the death of the Hunter, Punjam Hy Loo's trade with other kingdoms had once again opened up.

The last bit made Tooth feel even happier. Going to live with Jack was not a burden, or a curse. But she knows it could have been. Still, she would have gladly gone with Jack, whether he was a monster or not, if only so she could hear those words.

Her family was safe. Her country was safe.

All was well.

Tiya's birthday comes and goes.

("The dress is beautiful!" Tiya exclaims to Tooth, holding up the slightly too big dress in front of her.)

As does the next day, and the next, and the next. Tooth never spends a minute of those days alone. Her sisters stay with her every minute of them, and they all sleep in the biggest of their bedrooms – Radha's – as they once did when they were children.

She does not see her parents much, at least not alone, one on one. With trade routes re-opened, they are very busy, and every time she is with them she is surrounded by her sisters.

Every time one of her parents approaches her while she's alone, her sisters are there the next second.

That is, until today. Today, she is in her room, getting ready for her departure from the kingdom the next day, when her mother nocked on her door.

"Mother! Come in!" Tooth says, turning to face her mother.

Her mother nods, gliding into the room and sitting down on Toothiana's bed.

"I can't believe you are leaving tomorrow. I feel like I haven't seen you at all this week." Her mother sighs.

"Yes, but…It was amazing being able to come here, and just see you." Tooth says, trying to reassure her mother.

But instead of being reassured, she just sighs once more and says, "I worry about you, Toothiana. Every day you've been gone, and even more since you've gotten here."

Toothiana starts to open her mouth to tell her mother that she doesn't need to worry, but her mother begins to speak again.

"Tooth, tell me about it. About wherever it is you've been staying. And not just what you've been telling everyone else – are you safe? Is there anything – anything _bad _– you're not sharing with us?" Her mother's eyes implore Toothiana, and Tooth squirms under her stare.

"It's fine, I promise!" Tooth tells her mother. "Jack is a sweetheart, and everything's provided for me!"

Her mother doesn't look appeased. "Are you sure? Has the bear ever even tried to hurt you? How's the food? Are you sleeping okay?"

Tooth laughs. "I told you, he's a sweetheart! And the foods delicious, even if the way I get it is a little…odd. And you should see the bed! It's bigger than even the ones we have here."

Toothiana's smile slips off her face. Her bed was giant, yes, but it needed to be. But there was no doubt in her mind that she couldn't tell her mother about her nightly visitor – it would only cause the woman more worry and strife.

Still, though Tooth quickly plastered on another smile, her mother's keen eyes caught the few seconds of grimness on her daughters face.

And as she began to ask Toothiana what the look was for, what was _wrong_, Tooth could feel her resilience waning.

What could it hurt to tell her mother? Though she wracked her brain, the only negative to revealing her secret was more worry for her mother – and if the woman wanted to know, then even that was not so bad, surely?

"Well…There is one thing." she starts, and at her mother's nodding she continues. "Every night a…man, or something man-like, lays in my bed." Her mother's features contort in surprise, but Toothiana bites back the regret at saying what she has and continues. "I – I don't know who or what he is, because all the candles and matches in the room are gone when I go for them. But – but he never hurts me! He just lies there, and then is gone in the morning."

Her mother has stood up and has been pacing the room whileTooth told her of her nightly visitor, but now she once again sits down next to Tooth.

"Why didn't you tell us of this! A man, in your bed? And what if he isn't even a man? What is he's – " her voice drops low at this part, "a nightmare?"

Toothiana gasps and shakes her head. "No! Whoever it is, he has never so much as laid a finger on me!"

"Nightmares don't have to! They can suck out your life force just by being near you!" her mother wails, tears streaming down her face. "Why did we ever let you go! We could have stopped the Hunter ourselves. I can't let you go back!"

"I have to. I promised Jack." Tooth says, and as her mother goes to argue she continues with, "No matter what the thing in my bed is, Jack has been nothing less than kind to me. I can't break this promise."

Her mother must see the resolve in Toothiana's eyes, because she nods, tears still streaming down her face.

"Fine." She chokes out, before regaining composure. "But if you must go-" a quick look at Toothiana follows, to which Tooth nods profusely, "then at least take these."

She walks over to Tooth's drawer and pulls out a candle and a box of matches. "Hide them, and promise to me – promise you will look at the creature in your bed. Promise you will leave if it is something that can harm you."

Tooth shakes her head, but as the minutes pass her resolve weakens and weakons until she finally gives in.

* * *

The next morning, she waves good bye to her family and walks off to meet Jack.

But as she climbs on his back, laughing and telling him off her time at the city, she can't help but feel the weight of the candle in her pocket.


End file.
